Love Letters from Montmartre by Nicolas Barreau

Author:Nicolas Barreau
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781950691586
Publisher: Arcade
Published: 2019-06-14T16:00:00+00:00

That evening, I watched Robin Hood with Arthur again. We sat together on the sofa – he in his pyjamas with the brown teddy bears, me in my striped ones. A large bowl of crisps was sitting between us, which we were sharing companionably, and Arthur was huddled under a blanket. He crowed with delight every time Robin Hood played a trick on the Sheriff of Nottingham. At the end of the thrilling adventures, when sly Robin pulled Maid Marian into his arms and little hearts danced around the two foxes, Arthur sighed happily.

He then looked over at me.

‘Papa . . . know what?’ He giggled a little.

‘No, but I bet you’re about to tell me, little one.’ I pulled him into a hug, and he rested his head against my shoulder.

‘I have a girlfriend, too,’ he explained dreamily.

‘What?!’ I looked at him, astonished. ‘Isn’t it a little early for that, Arthur? You’re only four.’

‘No, Papa,’ he assured me. ‘Maxime also has a girlfriend.’

‘Aha!’ I said. What did I know? I was just the father.

‘But mine is prettier,’ Arthur continued. ‘She has red curls like Maman.’ He sighed contentedly and stretched out his legs. ‘Giulietta is the prettiest girl in the Smurf group. Her Maman is Italian,’ he declared proudly.

‘That’s . . . that’s great.’ I was a little confused. ‘And – I mean . . . what happens when you have a girlfriend?’ I asked cautiously.

‘Oh, Papa,’ he said. ‘It’s really easy.’ He picked up a handful of chips and chewed contentedly. ‘You pick one out, ask her: “Do you want to go with me?” and she says: “Yes.”’ He shot me a quick look. ‘If she heard you, that is . . . ’ he explained, as I bit back a smile. ‘And then you give each other a kiss, and then you’re together.’

‘Oh . . . wow!’ I said relieved. ‘And she . . . Giulietta . . . heard you right away when you asked?’

‘Yes.’ He smiled, snuggling closer against me. ‘We sit next to each other at lunchtime and save places for each other. She thinks I’m cool, you know.’

‘Well, you are definitely a cool dude,’ I agreed, tousling his dark curls and making the snap decision to grab the bull by the horns.

‘Know what? I need to tell you something, too, Arthur.’

He watched me with big eyes. ‘About Cathérine?’ he asked.

I nodded. ‘Yes. Cathérine and I, we’re friends,’ I began. ‘But . . . but we’re not going together. Understand?’

He nodded sceptically. ‘But Madame Grenouille said—’

‘Madame Grenouille is a silly old woman who likes to say bad things about people and other stupid stuff,’ I interrupted him. ‘She saw me walk out of Cathérine’s apartment one morning while you were still in Honfleur with Mamie. I was just comforting Cathérine, because it was her birthday and she was all alone. I stayed with her that night so she wouldn’t be so sad.’ At least, it wasn’t a complete lie. ‘Does that make sense?’

Arthur seemed to accept this.

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